This invention relates to a method of forming cloth, and more particularly, to a method of forming cloth shells into garments or other three-dimensional shapes. This invention also relates to the garments or other cloth products manufactured by this new and unique method.
In recent years there has been an ever increasing demand for relatively low cost, ready-to-wear garments that have a fine, tailored appearance and that are capable of retaining that appearance after extended wear. As a result, a variety of synthetic materials have been incorporated into cloth, either alone or blended with natural fibers, to produce such garments. These fabrics, however, along with natural fabrics such as cotton and wool, must still be made into a garment by conventional cutting, sewing and pressing techniques that are both time consuming and labor intensive. Thus, the costs of manufacturing garments having a fine appearance have not been satisfactorily reduced.
The conventional method of making cloth garments begins with cutting the cloth, in the flat, into a number of pieces which are arranged according to a predetermined, often complex pattern. In order to minimize cutting costs, many layers of cloth are cut to the desired pattern at one time. This procedure, however, introduces size variations in the pieces, since the cutting knive may not hold precisely to the true garment pattern through the multiple layers of cloth. As a consequence, undesirable variations in the size and configuration of the final garment occur. Conventional garment manufacture also requires that the cloth pieces of the pattern be joined or seamed, by sewing or welding, and darts are typically employed where necessary to shape the garment. This is followed by pressing to improve fit and remove wrinkles. All of these steps are labor intensive and therefore expensive.
In addition, the seams of conventionally tailored garments may pucker or open during manufacture or after extended wear and cleaning. Even if the seams do not open or pucker, they nevertheless constitute rigid intersections in the garment which tend to lessen the garment's wearing comfort. Furthermore, even with multiple seams and darts, it is extremely difficult to produce a garment which faithfully conforms to the predetermined size and configuration of the desired apparel.
Because of the inherent disadvantages in conventional garment fabrication procedures, attempts have been made in the past to form garments by molding processes. If a practical and efficient method of molding cloth into garments or other products could be developed, many of the inherent drawbacks of the present cutting and sewing or welding techniques could be eliminated. Molded garments, for example, would be more economical to produce than garments produced in accordance with traditional manufacturing techniques since the number of labor intensive steps employed in conventional techniques would be reduced, and consistency of sizing in the molded garments would be far superior to traditionally manufactured garments, since size variations in the garment prior to molding would be eliminated.
Molded garments require far fewer seams and darts than traditionally manufactured garments. This reduces the problem of opened and puckered seams, and greatly improves the garment's wearing comfort and durability, particularly after extended wear and cleaning.
In addition, molded garment manufacture can provide improved appearance in the final product, particularly with plaids and other patterned fabrics, while at the same time reducing costs by minimizing both labor and the amount of material required to produce a finished product.
While others have suggested various methods for molding garments and other cloth products, these methods all suffer serious drawbacks. Examples of such prior art processes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,655,858; 3,763,499; 3,819,638; 3,892,342; 4,103,363 and 4,171,076. These prior art processes are directed primarily to molding or forming knitted fabrics, and they all suffer from the disadvantages that (1) the shell of cloth made before molding does not conform to the general shape of the final molded article, (2) finished fabrics that have already been tentered in the flat are used in the molding process and (3) the garment is not molded under uniform tension and the finished garment therefore includes variations in the density of the fabric and an irregularity in sizing. In addition, these prior molding techniques have generally failed to produce garments which retain their molded shape, particularly after extended wear and cleaning. Moreover, because these prior art processes are directed to molding finished cloth which has already been subjected to dimensional-setting treatments while in the flat, the molding process does not provide either a precise sizing of the finished garment or satisfactory stretch and comfort characteristics.
Two particularly important finishing steps typically performed at the mill are the dyeing and tentering of the cloth. The dyeing step in some instances involves the application of heat to the fabric, which in thermoplastic fabrics tends to set the intersections of the individual yarns. The tentering process involves the application of both tension and heat to set the intersections of the individual yarns. In either case, however, the fabric is not uniformly tensioned, set, dyed or tentered while in the general shape of the finished garment itself. Prior art molding processes typically utilize dyed and tentered goods, failing to recognize the advantages of working with goods which are not completely finished or greige goods which come right off the loom or knitting machine prior to the application of any finishing processes.
As indicated above, the prior art cloth molding processes fail to maintain generally uniform tension across the circumference of the garment during molding. Many of these processes, for example, will stretch the garment in some places and shrink it in others or stretch the garment to differing degrees in different areas producing uneven tension and variations in fabric density throughout the garment, and hence, an unattractive, ill-fitting final product. Furthermore, it is often difficult and time consuming to achieve the balance of stretching and shrinking called for by these prior art processes.
The prior art has also failed to appreciate the significance of developing an appropriately shaped and sized pattern in order to achieve the necessary uniformity in tensioning required during molding. For example, the prior art illustrates only simple rectangular patterns or tubes of knitted material. As a consequence, the premolding cloth shells of the prior art do not conform to the shape and size of the final garment and must stretch, shrink or both stretch and shrink--and to differing degrees across the garment--during the molding process.
While cloth molding techniques of various types have been suggested, these techniques have not been commercially accepted. Garments molded according to the teaching of these techniques typically fail to hold their shape on extended wear and cleaning of the garments. Since the prior art has utilized only finished fabrics, the advantages of performing finishing operations on the garment while mounted on a mold have not been suggested or recognized. Indeed, the prior art has been concerned almost exclusively with molding knit fabric, failing to suggest practical ways in which woven and other non-knit fabrics may be molded.
In summary, none of the prior art garment molding processes provides either a practical or efficient method for apparel manufacture, and the garments resulting from these prior art processes are aesthetically unappealing, have insufficient stretch characteristics and are generally ill-fitting. As a consequence, no prior art garment molding processes have achieved any commercial acceptance.